Last evening I had to (alas!) leave the Bandra guest house and move to Guru’s place at Vile Parle. I wanted to stay till the end of the week, but someone didn’t. so the only way out was to find a shelter. Guru stays in a lovely society, and what I admire is his down to earth attitude. He stays with his Dadi who was equally amicable.

This morning, he decided to take his bike to office. And while I was having fun on the roads of Mumbai, he must be having a tough time wading through the heavy traffic amidst the sun. But it was amazing to find that I was at my Worli office in some 30 mins flat. And this including the 5 mins spent for refueling. I am thrilled by the prospect of riding a bike to office, and am even considering buying one. It may not be such a practical idea, but the thought itself is quite exciting.

I am in office today earlier than usual. And I need to wait for the IDES server to be set up. So the only way out is to wait .. and wait.

The main focus of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations lies in the concept of economic growth. Growth, according to Smith, is rooted in the increasing division of labor. This idea relates primarily to the specialization of the labor force, essentially the breaking down of large jobs into many tiny components. Under this regime each worker becomes an expert in one isolated area of production, thus increasing his efficiency. The fact that laborers do not have to switch tasks during the day further saves time and money. Of course, this is exactly what allowed Victorian factories to grow throughout the nineteenth century. Assembly line technology made it necessary for a worker to focus his or her attention on one small part of the production process.

During my economics classes in school, I remember that one of the disadvantages of such a labor specialization is the inability to look at or gain expertise in anything else. Being a jack of all trades may not be the best thing to happen, but being unemployable does no good either. This article focuses on how the concept is prevalent in today’s corporate world.

When a project is in an initial stage with just a few members, it becomes imperative for each to know the integration points of the other. That’s because there are unknown regions that everyone has to explore, and drive the project to its completion. The organization may face such a situation when it is starting up, it has labor shortages or just that it wants to save cost. In such a scenario, an individual is expected to take up multiple roles. The downside is that this model is not scaleable. With the increase of complexity and size, it becomes important to develop expertise by restricting individuals into their own regions of expertise. And the organization as a whole benefits since they can produce outputs more efficiently and by using lesser overall resources.

For the individual, things might get different. If she takes up multiple roles, the experience widens, and so does her value in the market. It is definitely much more difficult jugging multiple tasks at the same time; but the scope of learning is immense. On the other hand, in a large setup, the individual is lost, has limited expertise; and she might even find herself being unemployable in the market (since the limited experience is not valued enough). Diversifying one’s experience always makes sense for those who want to grow.

One needs to have an insight of the larger picture and the future prospects. Decisions are dependent on the individual’s priorities. If one wants to be valuable, it makes sense to get others do the repetitive tasks, while she learns something new..Call it politics?

The main focus of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations lies in the concept of economic growth. Growth, according to Smith, is rooted in the increasing division of labor. This idea relates primarily to the specialization of the labor force, essentially the breaking down of large jobs into many tiny components. Under this regime each worker becomes an expert in one isolated area of production, thus increasing his efficiency. The fact that laborers do not have to switch tasks during the day further saves time and money. Of course, this is exactly what allowed Victorian factories to grow throughout the nineteenth century. Assembly line technology made it necessary for a worker to focus his or her attention on one small part of the production process.

During my economics classes in school, I remember that one of the disadvantages of such a labor specialization is the inability to look at or gain expertise in anything else. Being a jack of all trades may not be the best thing to happen, but being unemployable does no good either. This article focuses on how the concept is prevalent in today’s corporate world.

When a project is in an initial stage with just a few members, it becomes imperative for each to know the integration points of the other. That’s because there are unknown regions that everyone has to explore, and drive the project to its completion. The organization may face such a situation when it is starting up, it has labor shortages or just that it wants to save cost. In such a scenario, an individual is expected to take up multiple roles. The downside is that this model is not scaleable. With the increase of complexity and size, it becomes important to develop expertise by restricting individuals into their own regions of expertise. And the organization as a whole benefits since they can produce outputs more efficiently and by using lesser overall resources.

For the individual, things might get different. If she takes up multiple roles, the experience widens, and so does her value in the market. It is definitely much more difficult jugging multiple tasks at the same time; but the scope of learning is immense. On the other hand, in a large setup, the individual is lost, has limited expertise; and she might even find herself being unemployable in the market (since the limited experience is not valued enough). Diversifying one’s experience always makes sense for those who want to grow.

One needs to have an insight of the larger picture and the future prospects. Decisions are dependent on the individual’s priorities. If one wants to be valuable, it makes sense to get others do the repetitive tasks, while she learns something new..Call it politics?

Mumbai has a harsh reality: that the realty space leaves you high and dry. It does not matter how much money one has, for there is always something to match your financial status. With the real estate prices zooming into new highs, I am facing the problem of getting a proper place to stay.

My friend told me that there has been some hike in the property tax on house owners who have decided to make money by renting their residential places. Quite a scheme to make money, but it only results in higher rents. I am simply looking for a one room kitchen flat which is accessible from my office(s), affordable and that can keep me comfortably. The harsh reality is that there may not be many locations available for me at this juncture. I have zeroed down on Andheri, so that I can take the 84 bus, or the train if I miss it.

There are just too many people in the city…God help me find a place! This weekend should be the D day!

I had heard that one’s environment changes the thought process. And I tend to realize it in the past few days in Mumbai. Though the first day felt like a cultural shock to me, the second onwards took me to a state where I thought I have been here before. And it was none other than during my stint at Rallis.

The client is a small company, and has its own problems and disorganized behavior. But the fact that I am looking at the project from the inception, and that I am responsible for the future contracts of pwc, gives me a kick. The people don’t know SAP, and I have to teach them, while making sure I set up things are good for them. I spoke to my colleagues about it, but found that their viewpoint is limited to the system and technology. When I talk about a DC in the business parlance, they ask me not to get confused between IS retail, since in ECC the term plant is used. I don’t care about what system is used, as long as the client achieves benefits.(aren’t we supposed to get more client centric?)

There are no lectures, no mumbo jumbo, and just plain work. The perks may not be good, but the responsibility definitely is…Life is all about gaining experience, and I am doing the same, even by paying a price (Mumbai is the most expensive city in the country!!)

I wanted a change, and I got it. I wanted a challenge, and I got that too: loads of them. Coming from an IT company into a consulting one astonished me till no end. There are projects happening from within the office premises and outside, but it does require a good application of one’s brains. And they keep the best in the rolls.That’s PWC to me. The Mumbai office is just like the BCS building of Kolkata (the ex-PWC building), but the content of the people is simply mind blowing. It might have basked in my own sunshine trying to do things that I was asked to without knowing its consequences, but I think I know it better now.

As well known, Mumbai is an expensive place and so is its lifestyle. Just like I realized that people led a better life in Europe with a (comparatively) high PPP, I find that Mumbai has more millionaires (and billionaires) than any other city in India. This was a perspective I never had before.

My only woe at this stage is that I don’t have a house yet and would have to get one soon. It would entail a lot of new experience, but I am sure things will get great once I am settled.

About my project: I managed to get a project within 3 hours of joining PWC. And I was thrilled to find that I had a project manager who would fight for my well being. I had to make a PPT for the kick off presentation on Friday, and I think I have done it well.

Lets see what Mumbai has in store for me. At the very least, it has made me optimistic.

This is probably last post I from Kolkata. I am looking forward to my Mumbai venture. It may not be as exciting as my IBM joining was (I was a different person then), but it should be good, so most of my friends say.

It may have been IBM’s slogan for the year to enthuse people to do more, but I have taken it otherwise. Its my personal prerogative to be unstoppable even with obstacles all along. But leaving a comfortable life for the bad one may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But I dont mind having tea, as long as I am adding value to myself.

Today is my last working day at IBM, and I will have to give up my faithful TP, along with all the good and the bad events out here. But life goes on, and venturing into new fronts will only make me better.

I have learnt a lot about life during this 2 year stint. And in order to keep learning, and avoid getting complacent, it makes sense to be unstoppable. Money will keep flowing, knowledge will not.

The world is going too fast, I need to join the high speed lane…Mumbai, here I come!

Just a couple of days to unemployment. it may sound quirky, but I am looking forward to a release from the place that has made me complacent and ‘santusht’ in its essence. Its not bad to be satisfied, but its worse to be happy with the status quo. I want a change.

Change comes with its ramifications. And I am looking for some more ‘happening’ moments.